Number Of Vermonters Without Health Care Unclear

Vermont officials say they won't know for several months how many people who looked at buying health insurance through Vermont Health Connect determined it was too expensive and decided to go without.

Vermont Health Connect spokeswoman Emily Yahr says the best answer to that question won't come until consumer surveys are out later this year.

The Associated Press reports that nationally, there's concern that some Americans are finding the combination of monthly premiums and out-of-pocket expenses with Affordable Care Act health plans are unaffordable.

Chris Brzezicki of Barre says he and his wife Carol opted to skip the coverage and pay a penalty of more than $400 a year after determining they could not afford a monthly premium of about $250 and an annual deductible of $7,000.

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U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has tendered her resignation after months of criticism over the rocky launch of the federal online insurance marketplace. The process on the state level appears to be running much smoother: Families USA, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit consumer advocate supporting the Affordable Care Act, is making recommendations to increase online enrollment. State exchange leaders participated in a conference call Thursday.

The nation hit a milestone last week: the deadline for signing up for coverage provided by the Affordable Care Act. Despite an unbelievable torrent of mistakes, criticisms, deceptive ads, and outright lies (remember the claims of so-called “death panels”?), enrollment in newly-created health marketplaces hit an estimated 7 million enrollees – the goal set by the Administration last June.